Babel, or the Necessity of Violence
2022 novel by R. F. Kuang / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution is a 2022 novel of speculative fiction by R. F. Kuang. It debuted at the first spot on The New York Times Best Seller list,[1] and won Blackwell's Books of the Year for Fiction in 2022 and the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel.[2][3] Thematically similar to The Poppy War, Kuang's first book series, the book criticizes British imperialism, capitalism, and the complicity of academia in perpetuating and enabling them.
Author | R. F. Kuang |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Speculative fiction |
Set in | Oxford, England, 1836 |
Publisher | Harper Voyager |
Publication date | August 23, 2022 |
Media type | Print, digital |
Pages | 545 |
ISBN | 9780063021426 (Hardcover) |
Babel is set in an alternative-reality 1830s England in which Britain's global economic and colonial supremacy are fueled by the use of magical silver bars. Their power comes from capturing what is "lost in translation" between words in different languages that have similar, but not identical, meanings. Silver bars inscribed with such 'match-pairs' can increase industrial and agricultural production, improve the accuracy of bullets, heal injuries, and more. To harness this power, Oxford University created the Royal Institute of Translation, nicknamed "Babel", where scholars work to find match-pairs. The plot is focused on four new students at the institute, their growing awareness that their academic efforts maintain Britain's imperialist supremacy, their debate over how to prevent the Opium War, and the use of violence.